Chefs Continue to Rock, and We Reach for the Earplugs

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First the Spin article in which Anthony Bourdain remembers the glory days of CBGB, then Metromix starts a “Kitchen Radio” column in which chefs talk rock (the first subject, Jimmy Bradley, says he listens to Zeppelin in the kitchen and compares his cooking to the drumming of Charlie Watts), and now the Times asks Fergus Henderson for his playlist. We’re glad to see it’s remarkably diverse — including cuts from Handel, Etta James, William Blake, Fela Kuti, and The Jungle Book soundtrack — because this thing of rock-and-roll chefs (and we’re not talking about Kerry “The Rock and Roll Chef” Simon) is getting a little tired. Whether it’s Sam Mason’s Dinner With the Band show, David Chang comparing the opening of his second restaurant to Pavement’s Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, or Mario Batali dancing his ass off at a U2 concert where he hilariously snaps a camera-phone photo of himself singing “With or Without You” with Michael Stipe, we get it. Chefs like to rock. We’re warning you: This will only get worse. Think Joël Robuchon bragging of mixing batter with Lars Ulrich’s drumstick.